Applegater Winter 2012 23
NEXT GENERATION
“Next Generation” is a new section featuring the talents of our local students. All schools in
the Applegate Valley are encouraged to submit art, writing, photography and any other creative
pieces to gater@applegater.org. For more information, contact J.D. Rogers at 541-846-7736.
RUCH SCHOOL STUDENTS
Submitted by Julie Hill, Principal, Ruch School
541-842-3850, julie.hill@medford.k12.or.us
In September, students from Ruch
Community K-8 School, grades four
through six, traveled to the Oregon
coast for a three-day, two-night Outdoor
Education Experience. In line with the
school’s new focus on place-based learning,
this was an extraordinary opportunity to
connect the Common Core Standards
being taught in the classroom to the rich
environment in which the students live.
Here are a few student testimonials about
their experiences.
Lily Martin, Grade 5. When I
first heard the news that we were going
to the Oregon coast, I was ecstatic! My
favorite parts were the sand castle building
competition, the NOAA (National
Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration),
the Coast Guard Station and the campfire
activity where we were able to bond as a
group.
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Asher Ilten, Grade 6. The beach was
my favorite part of the trip because we all
were able to run, sing songs, do skits and
have s’mores at the campfire while the sun
was setting!
z
Christine Agnifili, Grade 6. The first
night we slept at the Newport Aquarium.
The girls were in the shark tunnel and the
boys in the fish tunnels. We also went
to the SOU Hatfield Marine Science
Center…I liked the ducks!
The Scarecrow Meets a Friend
John the Scarecrow is sitting in a
cornfield on the farm during the day. He is
lonely and doesn’t want to sit on the farm.
A butterfly comes flying by. The butterfly
landed on a leaf. “Are you lonely?” said
the butterfly to John. John said, “Yes,
where are you going?” “To the garden,” the
butterfly answered. “I want to go with you.
Can I come?” asked John. The butterfly
said, “Yes.” John asks the butterfly to get
the stick on the ground to help him walk.
The butterfly picks it up and gives it to
John. The butterfly flutters out of the
cornfield. John runs after the butterfly.
They run past the post office, through the
library, down the slide at the park, and
end up in the garden. John spots another
scarecrow. John was excited because he
had been lonely for a long time. John
introduces himself to the garden scarecrow.
“My name is John the Scarecrow, what is
your name?” The garden scarecrow says,
“My name is Jacob the Garden Scarecrow.”
“Nice to meet you. Do you want to be my
friend?” asks John. “Yes!” replied Jacob.
So John planted himself next to Jacob and
they became friends. Neither had to be
lonely anymore.
Written by Ms. Neiswanger’s first-
grade students at Ruch School.
Photos from a three-day Outdoor Education Experience
at the Oregon coast enjoyed by Ruch School students in grades four through six.
“C
hildren learn best through their everyday experiences
with the people they love and trust, and when the learning is
fun. And the best place for these experiences is outdoors, in
the natural world.” —Unknown
JOB OPPORTUNITY
The Applegater Newspaper needs
an advertising salesperson
for Josephine County.
Contact J.D. Rogers, Editor
541-846-7736 or
gater@applegater.org
Christmas tree
permits available
It’s that time of year to start thinking
about the annual family trip to the woods
for a holiday tree.
Tree permits are available at forest
service and Bureau of Land Management
(BLM) offices, as well as at numerous
vendor locations in southwest Oregon. The
permits allow for the cutting of personal-
use trees for Christmas and other holiday
events. A permit is required for the harvest
of each individual tree. Please contact
your local forest service or BLM office, as
permits may be available sooner than the
official start date.
The permits sell for $5 per tree and
are nonrefundable. There is a limit of five
tree permits per person. The permits cover
a large area that includes the Rogue River-
Siskiyou National Forest and the Coos
Bay and Medford Districts of the BLM,
where lands are open to personal-use tree
harvesting. Maps with directions to cutting
areas will be provided at time of purchase.
The Christmas-tree permit tag is
validated after harvesting your tree by
cutting out the date, month and year on
the tree tag and securely attaching it to
the cut tree in a visible location before
transporting it.
Important note
Christmas-tree harvest is not allowed
in wilderness areas, campgrounds,
developed recreation areas, national
monuments, research natural areas, areas of
critical environmental concern, or within
fences or posted tree plantations, within
200 feet of state highways or on private
lands. Christmas-tree cutting is also not
permitted within the Cascade-Siskiyou
National Monument, the Wild and Scenic
Rogue River Corridor and Recreation
Areas. This stresses the importance of
having your tree permit map with you,
along with a local forest or BLM map,
and a good understanding of your location
prior to cutting.
Virginia Gibbons
Public Affairs Officer
Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest
541-618-2113
Storytelling Guild:
“Pass the Book”
book drive
The Storytelling Guild of Jackson
County is once again collecting gently
used and new children’s books for its
“Pass the Book” program. Each year the
Storytelling Guild distributes children’s
books to agencies in Jackson County to
share with the families they serve. From
Head Start to the Children’s Advocacy
Center, from the Dunn House to foster
children, from the Community Health
Centers to Healthy Start, in 2012 over
6,000 children’s books made their
way into the hands of children—in
their homes, in waiting rooms, at
Kids Unlimited, at the Boys and Girls
Club in Talent, in Juvenile Hall, at On
Track, the Magdalene House, Rogue
Valley Medical Center Pediatrics,
Medford Railroad Park, the Family
Nurturing Center, through Jackson
County Health and Human Services
Vital Links program, through Mid-
Rogue Oregon Health Plan, through
Child Development Services, at Access,
at the Maslow Project, to Lithia Springs
residential treatment, through the
Happy Smiles program, Healthy Start,
and at La Clinica de Valle clinics, and
to the Butte Falls Community/School
Partnership.
Books may be donated to “Pass
the Book” during the month of January
at all 15 branches of the Jackson
County Library. Books are needed
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for all age groups from babies to teens.
Board books for babies are especially
needed. Share your love of books and
reading: donate children’s books to the
Storytelling Guild’s “Pass the Book”
program.
The Storytelling Guild is a group
of volunteers dedicated to serving the
community by providing opportunities
for children to be exposed to the magic
of books and the joy of reading. “Pass
the Book” is just one of their programs.
They also present an annual “Book
Walk” fashion show of books to third
graders, present a weekly preschool
story time at the Medford Library
Wednesdays at 11:30 am, sponsor a
free show at the Craterian each January,
provide 24-hour access to Dial-a-Story at
541-774-6439 in English and Spanish,
and provide a scholarship to an RCC
student passionate about early literacy
and/or early childhood education. The
Storytelling Guild is best known for the
annual Children’s Festival. Planning has
begun for the 47th Children’s Festival
at the Britt Grounds in Jacksonville in
July 2013. Exact dates of the three-
day festival will be announced in
January. More information about the
Storytelling Guild is available at www.
storytellingguild.org.
Questions? Email Anne Billeter:
billeter@entwood.com.
